Printing textiles.



J.G.HEBDEN,

PRINTING TEXTILES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24. 1909.

1,087,370 Patented Feb. 17,1914.

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J. G. HEBDEN.

' PRINTING TEXTILES. APPLIOATION FILED 811F124, 1909.

1,087,370, Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

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JOHN C. HEBDEN, 0F PROVIDENCE, RHODE' ISLAND.

PRINTING TEXTILES;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1'7, 1914.

Application filed September 24, 1909. Serial No. 519,357.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, JOHN C. HEBDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certhe printed material and in the manner of producing the same.

The object of my improvement is to produce a printed yarn with a pattern or design which will exactly simulate the appearance of yarns twisted from fibers or strands dyed in different colors.

My improved product and the method of producing the sameisfully described in the following s ecification, illustrated by the companying drawin s, in which:

Figure 1 is an ena rge'd re resentation of a length of yarn with the printing" on one side of the yarn shown by full lines and the pattern on the opposite side indicated by dot-ted lines; Fig. 2 represents the printing on the reverse side of the same length of yarn; Fig. 3 is a development of thetw'o 0pposite sides of the yarn showing the continuity of the stripes in the pattern; Fig. 4 represents one side of a length of yarn printed with a different variety of pattern, with the printing on one side shown by full lines and the pattern on the opposite side indicated by dotted lines; Fig; 5 shows the opposite side of the above; Fig. 6' represents one side of a length of yarn printed with the pattern struck through the yarn; Fig. 7 shows the opposite side of the sameyarn and illustrates the effect" of the pattern which strikes through from the opposite side Fig. 8 is a development of the two sides ofthis length of am; Fig. 9' is an nd view of the rolls or ey inders used for printing the yarn; Fig. 10, an elevation showing the scorin on the faces of the rolls; Fig; 11,. a develop ment of a portion of the face of one of the rolls with the relation of the scoring on the opposite roll represented by dotted l nes. I The prime object of myjinventionis to produce a printed yarn of the same appearance as that of yarnstwisted from strands of difierent colors. In manufacturin yarns for twists or mixtures, as they are termed, the yarn is "or twist extending" around the yarn.

spun or twisted from strands or fibers which have previously been dyed in difierent shades or colors. For instance, a yarn might be twisted from one white strand and one colored strand or from several strands of one color and other strands of difierent colors according to the pattern desired. Attempts have beenmade to simulate the effects of these difierent varieties of twisted yarns by printin patterns on the undyed yarn, but hereto ore the results have not been successful. I have now devised a method of printing the yarn on both sides separately, with a continuous pattern which has the appearance of extending around the yarn in a spiral or helix and exactly reproduces the effect of a twisted yarn.

In Fig. 1 a represents a length of either White or unbleached yarn printed with stripes b, b, etc, running diagonally across it to give the appearance of a colored strand twisted in with a white strand. The yarn is printed with this pattern on one side only and on the reverse or opposite side the pat tern is printed with stripes running in the same direction. The stripes on one side of the yarn are arranged to match up with the stripes on the opposite side at their ends, as indicated by the dotted lines I), b in Fig. 1, the longitudinal relation of the patterns on opposite sides of the yarn beingindicated by the dot-and-dash' lines extending between Figs. 1 and 2'.

Fig. 3, a development of the two sides of the yarn, shows how the stripes on one side match up and continue into the stripes on the opposite side. This continuation of the pattern is essential to the improvement shownfor giving the proper effect of a spiral In other words, when the yarn is VlG'WGd' from all sides the efiect of the continuous stripe will be exactly" the same as theappcarance of the twist in a yarn spun or twisted from strands of different colors.

In Figs. t and 5, the yarn is shown with a di'fierent pattern representing the twist in a yarn having two white strands and two colored strands. Fig. 4 shows one side of the yarn and Fig. 5 the opposite side and it will be seen that the stripes have a greater lead or pit-ch along the length of the yarn than that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The

stripe 0 continues on the opposite side of the the dotted lines f. This pattern gives the appearance of a double twist and it is obvious that the pattern might be otherwise varied by using a still greater pitch to represent the twist of a greater number of strands and several different colors might be used to simulate yarns twisted from strands of variegated hues.

it will be understood that the yarn to be printed may be a single yarn composed of twisted fibers or it might be a ply yarn twisted from separate strands of the same color. lVhere ply yarns are twisted from strands of different colors the colored stripes will, of course, follow the twist, but in my new method of manufacturing colored yarns it is not necessary that the stripes follow exactly the twist of the strands and therefore the pattern of the printed yarn is not limited to the style of the twist. In other words, single or ply yarns of any twist may be printed to represent any number of different patterns of twisted yarns so that the new process is capable of a broad application to produce various patterns irrespective of the original character of the twist of the yarn being treated.

The method of printing the yarns consists preferably of passing them between two cylinders or rolls as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 which have their surfaces engraved with the pattern to be reproduced. A and B are two rolls having their circumferential faces engraved or scored with grooves gg, etc. The printing agent or color is rubbed over the faces of the cylinders and fills up the scorings. The yarn 1 is then run through the rolls as indicated in Fig. 9 and the yarn will be flattened out and printed on both sides with the pattern engraved on the cylinders. It will be noted that both cylinders are engraved with the scorings having the same direction of lead, that is, the markings on both cylinders will have either a right-hand or left-hand pitch. This is necessary to produce the continuous pattern of the stripe to imitate the twist which always follows in one direction around the yarn.

Fig. 11 is a development of the engraved face of one of the rolls showing the scoring for printing the pattern on one side of the yarn and the dotted lines indicate the impression that the opposite roll will make on the other side of the yarn to give the desired spiral effect. The yarn is printed in multiple by arranging the ends in a warp or mat formation and then leading the whole series of yarns between the rolls and passing the warp through while the rolls are pressed together. The warp might be printed by several different series of rolls using different colors to produce multi-hued effects in the yarn. It will also be obvious that the yarns might be printed by using one roll only, by passing the warp under the roll to print one side of each yarn and then turning the warp over and printing the other side. It is preferable, however, to print both sides of the yarns at one operation by using two rolls between which the yarn passes, because the patterns on opposite sides can more easily be made to register with this method, whereas, when using only one roll it would be difficult to hold the yarns in their proper positions, after one side had been printed, to print the other side. it is necessary, however, whichever method is used, that the pattern be printed separately on the opposite sides of the yarn in such a manner that it will not strike through from one side to the other.

I-Ieretofore the method of printing yarns with stripes has been by the so-called duplex process which consists of printing the pattern clear through the yarn to show the same on both sides. The effect of this method of printing is shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8. If one side of the yarn it only is viewed the stripes give the appearance of twisted strands, but if the two sides are shown together the effect is lost and the stripes have a haphazard appearance. This is caused by the stripes i on one side of the yarn running in the opposite direction to the stripes j on the other side. For instance, as shown in Fig. 6 the stripes on the front side of the yarn have a right-hand pitch, while if printed through on the back side of the yarn the same stripes will appear with a left-hand pitch, as illustrated in Fig. 7. Fig. 8 shows a development of both sides of the yarn with the pattern taking the form of a series of arrow heads. The yarn is fiattened out as it runs between the rolls during the printing, but its natural resiliency causes it to assume its original cylindrical form as soon as the pressure of the rolls is removed. WVhen the pattern is printed, as above described, and the yarn assumes its natural state the stripes will not have the effect of continuing around the yarn, but will have a jagged appearance and therefore the attempted illusion is not complete. With my improved method of designing and printing the pattern the simulation of a twisted yarn is perfect and the stripes continue around the yarn with the exact appearance of a twist.

The cost of manufacturing yarns by my method is very much less than where the several strands must be dyed separately and then twisted together. At the same time the ultimate effect of the yarn is exactly the same and when woven into a fabric there is no discernable difference between the cloth and that manufactured from twisted yarns.

I am aware that the method of printing both sides of a yarn separatelyvis not in itself new in the art and I do not claim this method broadly. The novel and essential feature of my invention is the herein described method of printing the yarn on both sides with separate patterns, with the pattern on one side continuing from and in the same direction as the pattern on the opposite side to simulate the efiect of a continuous spiral extending around the yarn.

What I claim is V 1. The herein described method of printing textiles consisting of printing one side of a yarn with a pattern of stripes extending diagonally across the yarn and printing the opposite side of the yarn with a similar pattern with the stripes extending in the same direction to simulate the appearance of the spiral efiect of yarns twisted from dyed strands.

2. The herein described method of printing textiles consisting of printing one side of the yarn only with a pattern of diagonal stripes having a pitch in a certain direction and printing the opposite side of the yarn with the same pattern with the stripes having the same pitch and continuing in the same direction to form a continuous spiral around the yarn.

3. A new article of'manufacture consist ing of a printed yarn having a pattern of diagonal stripes on one side extending in a certain direction and having a similar pattern on the opposite side of the yarn with the stripes extending in the same direction to simulate the appearance of a spiral twist in the yarn.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN G. HEBDEN;

Witnesses:

ARTHUR I. HARVEY, GRACE W; BROWN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Yatents. Washington, D. 0. 

